Media Release from IISA Aotearoa New Zealand
AROUND 40 of New Zealand’s toughest swimmers will descend on Alexandra next week, braving near-freezing water in pursuit of Frozen Ferns selection.
The International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) Aotearoa New Zealand and Oceania Pool Championships are at Alexandra Pool, 16–18 July.
Wearing only togs, goggles and a swim cap, they’ll compete in standard pool race distances, “but there’s nothing standard about the conditions,” says event director Laeti Berten, of Alexandra. “If the water isn’t below five degrees Celsius, then the swim doesn’t count as an ice swim.”
While ice swimming may seem extreme, Berten says participants are drawn by the exhilaration. “I challenge you to find a single ice swimmer who isn’t ecstatic after a swim. It’s an incredible feeling.”
The unique event has attracted accomplished pool and open water swimmers looking for a new challenge, alongside year-round swimmers keen to test themselves in competition.
Competitors are aged 16 to 71, and include 26 women and 17 men. Race distances range between 50m and 1km. Swimmers representing New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Kenya, the Netherlands, and the United States have entered. Seventeen athletes have entered an IISA event for the first time.
Berten says ice swimming presents genuine risks, including cold shock, hypothermia and afterdrop, the delayed fall in core body temperature that can occur after leaving the water.
IISA Aotearoa New Zealand president Roger Soulsby, one of the official observers at the event, says swimmer safety is paramount. “We all want to see swimmers get in properly, get out properly, and recover safely.”
To make sure that happens, the championships have strict safety protocols. Swimmers undergo a medical assessment before racing, wear safety belts while competing, and are monitored by trained spotters. Doctors, nurses and paramedics are on site and there’s a heated recovery room with blankets and emergency equipment.
Each swimmer is supported by a “second” who helps them exit the pool, dress quickly, and monitor their recovery. Heated vests, oversized insulated jackets, hot water bottles, and warm drinks are part of the careful recovery process.
A competitor at the last world championships, Berten will also swim at this year’s event. The recent cold snap of weather has come at the perfect time to ensure the water is competition ready. “The colder the better! If it’s not five degrees or under that’s just considered a nice swim!”
Soulsby says the sport of ice swimming has evolved rapidly over the past decade. “Traditionally New Zealand has been a wetsuit culture, and our open water swimmers were mainly triathletes. That’s slowly changing, and it’s no longer unusual to see people just in togs swimming throughout winter in our lakes, rivers and oceans.”
Spectators are welcome at Alexandra Pool with free admission throughout the event. Racing starts 9am each day. Selected Frozen Ferns will represent New Zealand at the 2027 Ice Swimming World Championships in Oradea, Romania.
Background information
· IISA Aotearoa New Zealand was established in 2022.
· This is New Zealand’s sixth national ice swimming championship. The event alternates between Alexandra Pool and Blue Lake, St Bathans. Only pool championship times count towards Frozen Ferns selection.
· Local competitors include Bethany Rogers, Anneke Veenstra, Benjamin Winter, Heidi Winter, Sophie Winter, Cameron Stanley, Finn Henderson, and Graham Clarke.
· Unlike traditional swim meets, competitors enter the pool via ladders (no diving), and tumble turns are not permitted.
· At the 2025 Ice Swimming World Championships in Italy, New Zealand finished fourth out of 48 countries, winning four open gold medals and 21 age-group gold medals.
Image captions:
Top left: Christchurch swimmer Wei Ping Chew competed at the 2024 International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) Aotearoa New Zealand Pool Championship, and returns this year. Safety is paramount at the event, with every swimmer closely monitored by an observer. Here, Chew receives a check from Joy Symons, who also returns as a swimmer this year. Image: Pete Holley.
Footer: After a successful swim, Rachel Averill of Wellington is helped out of the pool in Alexandra in 2024 by fellow ice swimmer Corrina Connor. Connor, who has swum Cook Strait, Foveaux Strait and Lake Taupō, is returning for the 2026 International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) Aotearoa New Zealand Pool Championships in Alexandra next week. Image: Pete Holley.